


Ohana

by HylianEngineer



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Happy Ending, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Hamilton References, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by a Reddit Post, Major Character Injury, Mythology References, The gods learn to be better parents, Timeline What Timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:00:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24791239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HylianEngineer/pseuds/HylianEngineer
Summary: After his adventures as a mortal, Apollo makes an effort to be the parent his demigod children deserve, and eventually gets the other gods involved as well.
Relationships: Apollo & Apollo Cabin, The Gods and Their Demigod Children
Comments: 19
Kudos: 182





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Credit goes to reddit users /u/EquivalentInflation and /u/kingmagpiethief for the post and comment, respectively, that inspired this, as well as the entirety of /r/camphalfblood, especially those who commented on the afore-mentioned post, which you can find [here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/camphalfblood/comments/hascp8/about_time_they_did_some_family_activities/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share)

Since Apollo's adventures as a mortal, he’s been around camp more frequently. Something about watching his children nearly die seems to have awakened his parental instincts. So one week after Apollo's return to Olympus, he shows up at camp. By parking the sun chariot in front of his own cabin, leaving scorch marks in the grass. The Demeter cabin will not be pleased. Being the god of the sun, he shows up as it's rising, and wakes up half the camp with the sound of his landing. (Not the Hypnos kids, though, they'll sleep through anything, up to and including  _ actual battles. _ ) 

The Apollo campers rush out of their cabin in PJs and armor, carrying bows, musical instruments, and various first aid supplies. Kayla is the first one out the door, bow in one hand and quiver in the other, and stops in her tracks, making Austin slam into her from behind hard enough that he almost drops his saxophone. Behind them, Will and a few younger campers struggle to see around their siblings. They were clearly expecting an attack, and are understandably bewildered to see their father standing outside with the sun chariot, which is currently in school bus form. 

Apollo is unfazed: "Children! Come on, I have tickets to Hamilton!" He's beaming, both in the metaphoric and literal senses. 

Austin is the first to find his voice: "...Dad? What are you doing here?"

"Spending time with my children, of course! I have centuries of lost time to make up for, after all." The light emanating from him falters, reacting to his emotions. "I can't tell you how deeply I regret not being there for you before. But that is in the past. Now things will be different." His eyes are watery, but there's a determined set to his jaw. For his children's benefit, he forces a smile. "Don't worry Kayla, we'll do archery next week." 

By this time, most of camp is watching this exchange, peering around doorways and peeking through windows. They're all a bit reluctant to draw Apollo's attention to them, having spent most of their lives with various gods threatening to smite them. But Apollo's children have no such fears: they're crowded around their father in a rather squished group hug. After a minute, they untangle themselves and file onto the sun chariot, shouting over each other as they argue over seating arrangements.

Throughout the show, Apollo keeps up a running commentary about his adventures with the founding fathers. Apparently he knew most of them, fathered some of them, and dated more than one. 

He's not very quiet about his gossiping, either, and he's drawing more than a few annoyed stares. 

"You know, I helped Lin write a few of these numbers. He's a fun guy, great sense of humor. Never challenge him to a dance-off, though; you can't win."


	2. A Spark and An Explosion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Kayla is injured on a quest, Apollo decides that enough is enough. The gods have neglected their children for far too long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for major character injury, although it's not graphic.

When Kayla is sent on a quest, her mortal father gives her a compass and a first aid kit, and Apollo gives her an enchanted bow and a box of sunlight to bring light in the darkest of places. The object of the quest is the sacred spring of Ismenos: its water could strengthen the camp’s borders and help maintain the safe haven created by Thalia’s tree. Kayla leaves camp with Katie Gardner and Travis Stoll, chasing a rumor that the spring has relocated to Maine.

A week later, breakfast at Camp Half-Blood is interrupted by a flying chariot landing on the green. It’s pulled by two massive swans, and out of it stumble three figures. Travis and Katie are supporting Kayla between them. She’s limp and feverish, her face alarmingly pale. 

Will rushes to his sister: “What happened?” His tone is brisk and focused, his emotions hidden behind a mask of professionalism. 

“Drakon bite to her left shoulder,” Travis reports. “We think it was venomous.”

“Alright, let’s get her to the infirmary.” 

Katie and Travis lay Kayla gently on a cot and try to stay out of the way while Will rushes around like a very intense, slightly panicky tornado. Soon, Apollo appears in a flash of golden light, having heard from Hermes that his daughter was injured. Wordlessly, he leaps into action, working alongside Will as though they’ve done so for years. Once Kayla is stabilized, they collapse into chairs by her bedside to wait for her to wake up.

In the days that follow, Katie and Travis fill everyone in on the details of the quest. They found the spring just outside Portland, in a grove hidden by the mist. It’s guardian, the Ismenian drakon prowled along the shore, red eyes glinting with malice. Katie summoned vines around its feet and Travis distracted it long enough for Kayla to reach the water. But just as she corked the vial, the drakon broke free from the vines and charged. Kayla opened her box of sunlight, blinding the monster and giving Travis an opening to stab it through the eye, but in its pain and fury it lashed out and its fangs pierced her shoulder. As she fell, Katie called the plants to break her fall and drag her out of harm’s way, just before the drakon’s body crashed to the ground where she’d been standing. The venom would have killed her had Hermes not answered his son’s prayers and sent the swan chariot so the heroes could return to camp in time to save her.

* * *

On the morning of the third day, Kayla’s fever breaks and her eyelids flutter open. “...Will? Dad?”

She sounds so weak, so vulnerable, and suddenly it hits Apollo just how  _ young _ she is. Too young to be expected to lead quests and fight drakons and do the gods’ dirty work. Too young to die. 

“Thank gods, Kayla, we were so worried.” Will’s voice breaks. “You've been unconscious for three days. We almost lost you.”

“The others…”

“They’re fine.” Apollo brushes a lock of red hair from her forehead. “It’s alright, kiddo, you’re safe now, everything’s okay. You were amazing.” 

Kayla falls asleep again after a few minutes, and Apollo leads Will outside, an almost frightening intensity in his eyes. “Will, this never should have happened. She’s just a kid, _you’re all_ _just kids._ My kids. And I’m going to keep you safe.” 

“Dad, please, don’t make promises you can't keep. The rules-”

“To Tartarus with Zeus and his rules! We all saw how well  _ that _ worked out; Kronos turned our own children against us! And it was easy. Because we were never parents to them. We were never there for them when they needed us, never spoke to them, sometimes we even forgot they existed. It wasn’t Kronos who turned them against Olympus,  _ we _ did that.” Apollo’s eyes flash with anger and determination, and his toga is starting to smoke a little. “We stood by and let them get hurt, even killed, without ever knowing we cared about them. Sure, things were better after we promised to claim them, for a little while. But the gods are slow to change. That legacy of neglect, it ends here, Will. From now on, we’re going to be the parents you all deserve.” His expression softens. “I understand if you can’t believe that yet. But if you’ll just give me some time, I’ll prove it to you. Right now, though, I need to have a chat with the other gods.” 

And in a flash of light, he was gone, leaving Will somewhat flabbergasted and Kayla entirely oblivious to everything that had just transpired.


	3. From Now On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gods attempt to be better parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! Life's been a bit crazy, but I haven't abandoned this!   
> A huge thank you to A for inspiring me to finally finish this chapter.

No one really knows what Apollo said, or did, but it certainly had an impact on his fellow gods. Over the next week, nearly everyone at camp receives some sort of communication from their godly parent. 

Poseidon invites Percy to his underwater palace, which everyone in camp knows the hero has been dying to see for years. The demigod is thrilled to see Tyson again, and Poseidon's kingdom is everything he dreamed it would be. Coral spires reach up towards the sunlight, framing a shimmering abalone castle and a whole city of winding streets and precariously stacked buildings (it takes some getting used to, the way being underwater distorts physics- Annabeth would love it), with Merpeople and all sorts of fish swimming around. Before Percy returns to camp, Poseidon gives him a tiny conch shell, enchanted to bring him to the palace whenever he wants. Percy wears it on his camp necklace, beside the silver owl pendant that was a gift from Annabeth. 

The Athena cabin wakes up one morning to a stack of books on their doorstep. Each book has a letter tied to it with twine, one addressed to each child of Athena. The books are personalized- an architecture textbook for Annabeth, a book on Roman battle tactics for Malcolm, and so on. None of them talk about what was in the letters, but whatever it was made more than one of them cry, though when asked about it they insist that everything is fine. Athena starts taking them on field trips to the library and the Smithsonian and the MOMA. But gods forbid anyone find a spider amongst the bookshelves- one such incident got the entire group kicked out of the Library of Congress, Malcolm screamed so loudly. After hearing the stories about her children being tormented by the tiny pests, Athena helps them spider-proof the cabin.

The Hephaestus cabin finds that their father has sent blueprints for all sorts of things- armor, weapons, shields, all clearly designed to protect them in battle, and personalized for each person’s fighting style. There are also a few notes on their current projects, offering solutions to the most frustrating problems. He comes to Bunker 9 sometimes to work on projects with his kids- the most memorable incident involved a hoard of tiny robots and a flamethrower. 

Nico gets a bag of polyhedral dice, a book entitled  _ Dungeons and Dragons: Player’s Handbook _ , and instructions to read the later and be at Hades’ Underworld palace at 7 o’clock Friday night. He brings Will and Hazel with him, and they go on epic adventures in the Forgotten Realms. Hades is the dungeon master, and Persephone plays a charismatic druid. Nico's character is a necromancer stereotype, because he thinks it's funny. Hazel plays a sorceress, and Will, naturally, is a cleric, although he has perhaps too much fun with the Fireball spell. 

The Demeter cabin’s plants double in size overnight, and baskets of tools and seed packets are left at the foot of each bed. Their mom shows up the next day to help them plant everything and practice their chlorokinesis. When this gets boring, they start growing plants in the shape of birdhouses and fences and chairs, weaving objects and artwork out of living branches.

Unsurprisingly, Aphrodite’s first attempt at actual parenting is to take her children shopping. They return to camp with truly astounding quantities of clothing and makeup, in unparalleled variety. Piper is very relieved that she isn’t expected to wear anything traditionally beautiful- her mother is shockingly supportive of her preferences for functional, simple attire, and was very apologetic when she realized how much Piper had hated her “blessing” when she was claimed. Aphrodite is the goddess of love, and that means all love- self-love, platonic love, and familial love as well as romance. As far as she’s concerned, clothes and makeup are meant to make people feel happy and confident and comfortable in their own skin, not to turn them into someone they’re not.

Lou Ellen and her siblings each receive a spellbook and a package of herbs and other magical ingredients. Hecate drops by to teach them to manipulate the mist and cast various complicated spells. Laughing at the inaccuracies of mortal fantasy movies also becomes a bonding activity.

Hypnos sends dream messages to each of his children, and gives every camper a blanket enchanted to ward off nightmares. On a particularly energetic day they might do yoga or sit around watching old movies. Which most of them fall asleep in the middle of, but nobody really minds.

Hermes sends each of his children a box of snacks, soda, and other contraband. When the weekend rolls around, he shows up in an old Volkswagen van (it's bigger on the inside, with couches and a bathroom and a tiny kitchenette) and takes all his kids on a road trip to Niagara falls, stopping at every weird roadside attraction along the way. 

Ares’s gift is more subtle, but there is an odd shortage of monster attacks, and a few armored skeletons have been seen patrolling the camp’s borders. He comes by to spar with his children and play a particularly terrifying version of capture the flag that's reminiscent of Camp Jupiter's war games. There are land mines involved, and the rest of camp quickly learns to stay out of the way. Despite the dangerous training exercises, it’s clear Ares really cares about his kids. The first time one of them is hurt, he teleports to the infirmary and threatens Apollo with grievous injuries unless he  _ fixes this right now _ ! The threats stop once it becomes clear that Apollo cares about the demigods just as much as he does.

Apollo is closer with his kids than any of the other gods, largely because of his time as a mortal. He takes them to musicals and concerts, teaches them archery techniques and healing spells, and listens to them argue about music. He has an endless supply of stories about working with the world’s greatest musicians, from Queen to Mozart. Some nights they all gather in the Apollo cabin to watch old disney movies, sprawled out across the floor with pillows and blankets and beanbags, singing at the top of their lungs until someone comes to yell at them to  _ shut up already, it’s way past curfew! _

Nike takes her children, Holly and Laurel, to every type of competition imaginable- athletic events, spelling bees, whatever’s going on that weekend. Of course, they win all of them, and the collection of trophies and medals piling up in their cabin is starting to look like a dragon’s hoard. No one has been brave enough to mention this to them, because the Nike twins are more than a little intimidating. The Olympics are coming up next summer, and everyone at camp has been avoiding the subject ever since someone mentioned it in front of Laurel and Holy and they got into a shouting match over who would win the most medals, then became even more scary competitive than usual .  Nobody wants to do camp activities with them when they get like that, because it is  _ terrifying _ and somebody usually ends up in the infirmary.

Iris redoubles her efforts to deliver messages between demigods and their parents, and enlists her children to help, in between teaching them illusion magic and photokinesis. They also have weekly arts and crafts nights and occasionally organize firework-like light displays, to the amazement and delight of the other campers. Glowing images of heroes and monsters flicker across the sky, telling stories of ancient myths and legendary battles. Iris and her children are also crucial in mediating the various squabbles that inevitably break out on a regular basis, with camp now more crowded than ever- she is the goddess of communication, after all.

Dionysus remains somewhat unpleasant towards most of camp, but he has a soft spot for his son Pollux, which he tries in vain to hide. The two of them tend the strawberry fields together, and play videogames into the small hours of the night, running on determination and too much caffeine. Dionysus is also very protective of transgender, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming campers (as he was raised as a girl to hide from Hera’s wrath), and will curse anyone who disrespects them. The rumors about the demigod who thought he was a grapevine are usually enough to convince any bullies to keep their mouths shut.

Two weeks after everything changed, Thalia and Jason still haven’t heard from their father, and they’re beginning to wonder if they ever will. As king of the gods, Zeus has always been less willing to bend the rules. But then they wake up to find their cabin completely transformed. In the front room, the creepy statue of Hippie Zeus remains, but now there are bedrooms on either side, decorated in shades of blue and grey, with ceilings covered in moving clouds and the occasional lightning bolt. Large skylights let in the sun. Photos cover the walls: Thalia with Luke and Annabeth; Jason with the Romans, the Seven, and Nico; even of Jason and Thalia together, both before Hera took him and after they were reunited. 

On each of their pillows, there’s a letter. It’s from Zeus, explaining that with Hera’s generally hostile attitude towards demigods, he’s remaining distant to protect them. Still, it hurts to see everyone else with their parents and not be able to have that same connection. It doesn’t take long for their friends to notice the way the children of Zeus stare sadly at the other demigods spending time with their parents, and once the other gods find out, they’re determined to help their family. Thalia, like all Hunters, is very close to Artemis, and soon Apollo also takes her under his wing, becoming the older brother she’s never had. And Jason is invited to join Nico and Hazel for Dungeons and Dragons in the Underworld, and to visit Poseidon’s palace with Percy. They may not be able to see their father, but the godly side of the family is still looking out for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are always appreciated! 
> 
> This is probably the final chapter of this work, and I'm marking it as complete, although I can make no promises that my muse won't come up with some other crazy idea I just have to add.


End file.
